Laura Conde In Spain, minors consume more than three times the sugar recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to data from the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN). This agency, under the Ministry of Consumption, reports that 53.9% of minors exceed the 10% daily intake limit set by the WHO, with children aged 3 to 9 years being the highest consumers.
These figures far exceed the more conservative recommendations of the WHO, which suggests that the optimal goal is to actually reduce daily sugar intake to 5% of total intake. In this regard, the WHO points out that there is no scientific evidence to support the notion that reducing sugar to this 5% level harms the body. Before delving into the subject of the best way to reduce sugar consumption on a daily basis, both the sugar we add to foods and the sugar that comes already added (especially in ultra-processed foods), it is convenient to differentiate between two types of sugars: intrinsic and free sugars.
This is explained by the nutrition coach Susana León: “The sugar present in fruits is a combination of fructose, glucose, and sucrose – the latter being a combination of the other two – in different proportions. These sugars behave differently from added sugar because fruits contain fiber, which slows down the absorption of these fast-absorbing carbohydrates, and therefore their effect is moderated, which means that it does not provide that sugar rush that always comes with consumi.